The John R. Oishei Foundation

A leader with an animated legacy

Buffalo’s foundation

When you think of The John R. Oishei Foundation, you should think of the roots of Buffalo.

Granting their biggest donation ever of its kind, Buffalo’s Children’s Hospital would now be named The John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital after the man who started this foundation of change. So, who was John R. Oishei? The Foundation asked us to answer this question and share his legacy in the blank space of Buffalo’s newest medical marvel.

The installment of inspiration

Granted a prominent space in the new lobby, the Foundation asked 19 IDEAS to develop a concept for an interactive installation that was both worthy of the hospital’s new platform and also telling of their namesake’s intense generosity in the community.

Putting our minds together and our ideas to work, we created the blueprint for a dynamic, dimensional experience – for visitors of all ages and circumstances.

To the wall

We started with simple sketches of the wall’s space, adding in strong elements of technology, interactivity and collaboration – we knew that this community-facing project should also encompass tenets of our community values as well. With a large touchscreen acting as the hero of the space, we incorporated Bak USA smart boards loaded with Fisher-Price apps into our concept to appeal to audiences of all ages.

On board

Diving into the history books, we learned about John R. Oishei; his life’s beginnings, his major milestones and all of his contributions in both humble gifts and economic growth through Trico Products. Known as the force behind the perfecting the windshield wiper blade, he brought a fusion of growth and pride to Buffalo, NY – and these sentiments have continued to permeate throughout our community today through the intense charity of The John R. Oishei Foundation.

From pencil to play

Using Oishei’s legacy and story as our inspiration, we created colorful, engaging ways to bring the content to life through our interactive screen. From idea, to sketch, to color, to movement, we created individual, animated scenes that let users live through some of John R.’s – and his respective Foundation’s – highlights.

The perfect touch

Our Development Team got to work creating an app using Electron and Vue JS to craft a fluid user experience for each of the hospital’s visitors. Using Ubuntu to operate the system, we found a way to run this application with more features than what Windows could typically offer. From there, we pulled external content in through WordPress so both our team and the Foundation’s could easily create and update posts without us building it into the new app, all beautifully presented on a top-of-the-line 85″ Avocor touchscreen.

What we achieved was an easily-operated platform where users could interact with the story of John R. Oishei, the Foundation, and the new hospital.

Building together

Using the colorful illustrations as our guide, we used the bright, welcoming backdrop to highlight our timeline of John R. Oishei. Working with architects, the hospital’s facilities management, equipment vendors, electricians, sign vendors, TV vendors, local business like Bak USA and Fisher-Price, and the Foundation, we were able to create an installation for all to touch, explore and learn from while they waited in the new John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.

You are here

The new Oishei Children’s Hospital represents Buffalo’s growth and hope – in the brightest of ways. Built to help heal mothers and children alike, it will be home to some of medicine’s most important miracles, and 19 IDEAS is so proud to have been a part of telling that story. While our pride for this project speaks volumes, the joy that it brought to the JRO Foundation has helped this to become one of our loudest achievements, too.

Located in the entrance of the new hospital, we invite you to see, touch and learn about John R. Oishei: the man who built a company and continues to help build our Buffalo.